FX Weekly Recap: February 2 – 6, 2026

The primary full buying and selling week of February delivered a unstable mixture of central financial institution surprises, deteriorating labor market knowledge, and sharp risk-off sentiment that upended conventional foreign money correlations. Australia’s Reserve Financial institution shocked markets with its first price hike in over two years, propelling the Aussie to the week’s high efficiency, whereas the Japanese yen suffered its worst displaying regardless of usually benefiting from market stress. The U.S. greenback defied weak employment figures—together with a dismal ADP report and plunging JOLTS openings—to complete constructive in opposition to most majors as safe-haven flows dominated.

Central banks took middle stage mid-week, with the Financial institution of England’s unexpectedly shut vote break up and the ECB’s dovish maintain reshaping price expectations. In the meantime, know-how shares endured brutal promoting strain on AI disruption fears, valuable metals crashed, and cryptocurrencies suffered violent deleveraging. The week underscored how coverage divergence and shifting danger sentiment can override conventional elementary drivers in foreign money markets.